


so totally (not) science boyfriends

by LadyIsabelleStark



Series: the ballad of the science bros [1]
Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Couch Cuddles, Cute, Drabble, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Fluffy Ending, M/M, Minor Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Nicknames, One Shot, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Prompt Fill, Sassy, Science, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, Sleepy Cuddles, Snarky Tony, Tony Being Tony, Tony Has Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-31
Updated: 2013-08-01
Packaged: 2017-12-21 23:02:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/905989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIsabelleStark/pseuds/LadyIsabelleStark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on this prompt: Bruce tries to stay up with Tony whenever he science binges so that he has someone to talk to other than robots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little drabble for the the genius over at avengersheadcanons.tumblr.com, the best avengers fic prompt blog around. Go check it out, I swear you won't regret it. It rocks! :)
> 
> Here's hoping this isn't too terrible.. Enjoy!

It was 3:12 in the morning according to the digital clock on the wall of his room, and Bruce rubbed his eyes, unable to sleep. He could hear the banging of metal and a whispered cuss word through the vents every so often, his room directly above Tony's lab. Grumbling to himself about stupid stupidly attractive geniuses and their not sleeping and making too much noise, he tiptoed down the steps, carefully peeking through the bars of the railing to see just what Tony was doing. There were parts absolutely _everywhere_ , washers and sheet metal spread out all over the crowded work tables, blueprints and papers all crumpled up; some lying on the floor, some tacked to his giant whiteboard. That hadn't been missed either, apparently, seeing as there were multicolored scribbles all over it, in Tony's boyish scrawl. 

Bruce smiled slightly, pushing his glasses up on his nose and taking some joy out of seeing Tony in his element and completely alone. His eyes were constantly flicking around, lips muttering a steam of either curse words or commands for JARVIS (he thought, Mr. Paranoid had the walls soundproofed "just in case".. but not the ceiling. Hence what woke him up.)

He stood, joints cracking loudly, reaching up to tap on the glass tentatively. That was another thing: nobody got keys to the big lab in the basement except Tony. Not even Bruce, whom Barton had proclaimed Tony's "Science Bro" with a little bit too much satisfaction. 

Tony's head snapped up immediately, his eyes going wide with alarm, dropping a wrench in his foot. Hopping on one leg toward the door and muttering the whole way, he pressed the intercom button.

"What're you doing up, Mr. Go To Sleep At A Healthy Hour or I'll Kill You All?" He said from behind the glass, holding the wrench half threateningly. 

Bruce fought the urge to roll his eyes, and calmly replied "I thought you might want to talk to me instead of JARVIS."

"JARVIS doesn't make fun of my sleeping habits or constantly fix my hair."

He really needed to stop bringing the hair thing up, the whole team did. It wasn't his fault Tony's hair was constantly sticking up in little messy spikes, oil and grease and gods knows what else stuck in it. He just had to keep fixing it, it bothered him when it kept getting into his eyes. Tony had threatened to cut off all his curls in his sleep if he didn't stop, but Bruce cheerfully ignored that threat. 

"JARVIS can't tell you that the formula on the whiteboard is wrong," he said smugly, nodding toward the board. Tony buzzed him in right away, looking in shock at the jumbled mess of numbers and letters. 

"It is not! I spent a whole 15 minutes on that baby! I even had to go back and _correct ___it."

Bruce ignored him, walking toward the board. "Your variable didn't change correctly here," he said, reaching up and tapping the mistake with his finger. "See?" 

Tony stood in front of the board and examined it, looking completely like a mad scientist with his crazy hair and sleep deprived expression. "You and I both know I'm right," he said, shooting him a look. 

"It got you to let me in," said Bruce with a smile, turning away from the board and walking toward the tables. "Otherwise you wouldn't have. You're an independent worker." 

Tony shrugged and nodded, supposing he was right in two ways: one, he did prefer working alone, but two; he really did get kind of lonely. 

"This looks complicated," Bruce remarked, toying with a spring attached to some outrageous contraption. 

"Wait-don't touch that!" Tony yelped, already reaching for it, but there was a loud POP! and a shower of sparks erupted from the machine. 

Bruce sat back in surprise, Tony pressing buttons until the fire was gone. "Does something always have to explode?" He asked lightly, a joking light in his eyes. 

"You make it sound like I make things burst into flames for fun," Tony muttered away from him, tinkering with some other toy. 

He got up and crossed the floor, sitting on a stool next to the genius himself. "When's the last time you slept?" He asked, not so jokingly this time. "And I don't mean falling asleep on your blueprints or crashing for an hour on the floor in here. I mean real sleep." 

Tony didn't look up, and in the harsh fluorescent light Bruce could see how ragged he looked, from the deep purple circles under his eyes to the way his hands were shaking slightly. "Or eaten?" He continued, picking up a few day old cup of instant coffee, flinging it into the trash. 

"Listen to me, Tony. Please." 

He reached over and touched Tony's wrist gently, gasping slightly when he flinched away. "I can't sleep," he said in a hollow voice, staring blankly ahead. "I can't sleep and when I do it's full of nightmares and evil and-and this is more productive, anyway. Freedom never takes a holiday and shit." 

"That's what Cap's for," he said, forcing himself to laugh a little bit. 

"Ha ha," Tony grumbled. "Star Spangled sonofabitch." 

Raising an eyebrow curiously, Bruce leaned toward Tony and watched his hands work (totally not fascinated by them, nope) as he waited for a explanation. "Always so," he stopped, waving the wrench in the air as he searched for a word. "God damned chipper all the time. It's _awful ___. Doesn't he have a off switch under all that Good Old Fashioned Charm?"

"Nice proper nouns," he observed, Tony rolling his eyes. "Whatever, Banner. Nobody invited you to the complaining party." 

"I didn't think you were complaining." 

"You _like ___the Captain."

"Everyone does," he admitted shyly. "But I don't think you want everyone to like you, do you? That's not why you dislike him." 

Tony paused for a moment, a flash of something in his eyes, then resumed tapping lamely at a piece of metal with a hammer. 

"I'm wearing his t-shirt," Tony said suddenly, looking down. Damn sure enough, there it was, a picture of the Captain America Shield. "Oh, lord jesus. What has the world come to." 

"Tony," Bruce said warningly. "Be nice." 

"I'm always nice," he snarked back, gritting his teeth slightly. 

"Go to sleep. Come on. Please." 

At the mention of sleep, Tony's shoulders slumped slightly, his eyes almost drifting closed right there. "Can't sleep," he mumbled, stumbling away from the table. 

"Couch you go," Bruce said quietly, taking his shoulders and gently steering him toward the large leather couch in the corner. He was asleep before Bruce even came back with a blanket, covering him as gently as he could. 

_He decided it wasn't a good idea to leave, yawning and curling up at the other end of the couch._

And that is how the Avengers woke up to the picture of Bruce and Tony still fast asleep on the couch at noon the next day, each one heavily documenting it on their phones for the best blackmail they'd had in ages. It was also how Bruce got a set of keys left outside his door, knowing immediately what they were. 

"I knew it!" Clint shouted triumphantly, throwing a fist in the air. "They are _so ___cuddle buddies."

_Natasha decided to ignore the fact that Clint Barton, assassin extraordinaire, had just said cuddle buddies, and continued to film through the glass._

____~_ _ _ _


	2. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when the two science "bros" eventually wake up and have to face their teammates?
> 
> Sassy Avengers, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to continue this because the ideas flowed so easily, along with the dialogue. Avengers Family might be my new favorite writing topic, lol. 
> 
> But yeah, this is the last chapter for this little work here. The first one got lots of attention views wise, so I hope you all like this one too. Please, if you have time-leave me a note if you like! They encourage me soo much and I always reply. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

•

"Tony. Tony. _Tony. ___Ohmygod, I can see that you're awake. Get up."

Opening his eyes slowly, the first thing he saw was the face of Bruce Banner, leaning quite closely to his own. 

"Well," he said, propping himself up on one elbow. "There's a view I'd never thought I'd see at this time of day." 

"You mean," Bruce said, pulling up his sleeve and checking his watch. "You thought you'd never see my face close to yours at 12:13 in the afternoon?" 

"Ohmygodnodidtheyseeus," he spit out in one breath, knowing damn well they did. Bruce nodded, smiling ever so slightly down at the couch. "Clint seems to think we're cuddle buddies. Or, that's what I could get from behind the glass." 

Tony sat up completely, hoping his hair wasn't all messed up or he had drool dried to his face, but judging by the was Bruce was staring at him, it was one of the two. "Fix it," Tony sighed, rolling his eyes as he leaned over him and ever so lightly brushed his hair over to the side. "Thank you." 

"Do you think they'll make fun of us?" He asked meekly, cleaning his glasses on his rumpled shirt. 

"Undoubtedly so," said the billionaire sincerely. "But then again, they're just jealous bastards. Captain Baby Blue Eyes especially." 

Bruce huffed a sigh of his own, hauling himself off the couch and shuffling toward the door. "Come on. I'm starving." 

"Eager to get the walk of shame over so quickly, Dr. Banner?" Tony asked, and Bruce didn't need to turn around to know he was sitting up on the couch with his classic "rich bastard" smile plastered all over his face. 

"No, I'd just like to get some food, Tony," he said to the door, pushing it open. "And for gods sake, we slept on opposite sides of the couch. Don't get your knickers in a twist." He muttered the last bit, but judging by the barking laughter he heard behind him, Stark had heard anyway. 

"Never supposed you were one for British figurative language," he said, still smiling brightly. Bruce rolled his eyes, heading up up the stairs. "You enjoy my language," he said dryly, giving just the smallest suggestive eyebrow raise. 

"You didn't go through my stuff, did you?" Tony said, trying very very hard _not_ to think about what he just said. "You totally snooped," he stated, jogging upstairs beside him. "Ugh, can't trust any of you idiots." 

"Just because Natasha found your stash of _highly illegal_ Mexican tequila doesn't mean you can have trust issues." 

"Well, she doesn't know that I know she keeps a bottle of Russian vodka up in the vents where only she and the Hawkguy can drink it." 

"Correction," said a silky smooth voice behind him. "She definitely knows." 

Tony and Bruce slid into chairs beside each other at the breakfast bar, Tony getting slightly red. "Good morning, Nat," he said too cheerfully. "How was your night?" 

She spun around gracefully and gave him a staredown while she took a long sip of coffee. "Not as good as yours, apparently. Soundproof walls so no one would steal your secrets, mm?" 

"That's correct, miss." He cocked his head slightly to the left, batting his eyes innocently. "Unless you meant something else?" 

"You're starting to sound like the Captain," Clint said, giving Natasha a look as he dropped into a chair next to Tony. "Please don't start calling women dames, Tony. Take some language lessons from Banner. He knows what to say, like, always." 

Tony widened his eyes and stole a glance at Bruce, who was conveniently hiding his face with the newest edition of the New York Times. He cleared his throat, but all he got in response was a ruffling of the paper. 

"Dear god, you two together is almost as sweet as my brew," Steve said, walking into the kitchen nonchalantly, as if he hadn't been hiding behind the wall and listening. 

"First," Tony said, raising a finger into the air. "Please don't call coffee that ever again, it makes you sound sixteen. Second, the sugary shit you call your brew is _nothing_ compared to myself and my cuddle buddy."  
The tips of Clint's ears went slightly pink, biting his lip shyly. "You wanna say anything, Hawkeye? Cat got your tongue?" 

"Leave him alone," Natasha snapped, leaning against the stove. 

"Like you two aren't." 

"Aren't what?" She challenged back, arching one perfect eyebrow. 

"Cuddle buddies," Steve said from next to the stove. "Honestly Tony, it's not like you don't monitor the security cameras." 

"Nobody asked you, Captain Sparkles." 

"Well, good to see we're getting along," said Pepper, striding into the kitchen. "Good morning, Bruce." She paused for a moment, a self assured smirk settling on her face. "Tony." She gave him a curt nod, pouring herself some orange juice settling herself on the counter next to Bruce. 

"Interesting night, boys?" She asked, Natasha grinning like no other right behind her. 

"We didn't-" Bruce began to say just as Tony blurted out "It wasn't like-" Pepper pursed her lips, obviously enjoying their squirming. "Ah, boys," she clucked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Have Couslon make you an omelet. They're delectable." 

"Isn't he out doing super spy things? Like, freedom and patriotism and shit?" Tony said, crossing his arms and leaning back slightly. 

"He's actually behind the wall, listening," Pepper said distractedly, craning her neck to see. "Mhm. Definitely." 

Coulson came out from behind the wall, red faced and rubbing at his neck embarrassedly. "It wasn't like you all weren't listening either," he protested, staring at them all. "Come on now, Pepper, don't give me that look." 

"What look?" she purred innocently, making sure to glance down at Tony, who was suddenly very interested in the countertop. 

"Hey!" he said, snatching the paper out of Bruce's hands and throwing it at Steve, who glared at him. Tony smiled back angelically, and then leaned forward to whisper in Bruce's ear. "They're the worst gossips I've ever seen," he said, looking around as he spoke. 

A curious little smile made it's way onto Bruce's face as he casually learned forward and whispered, "Why are you obliging them, then?" 

Clint made a fake gagging noise in the back of his throat, looking half disgustedly at them. "Why don't you just feed each other food like birds and call each other "snugly boo boo mc cutie kins," he said, rolling his eyes. "You're _awful_. 

"You're also an _awful_ actor," Pepper whispered, her eyes still gleaming deviously, leaning across Bruce to get to Tony. "Just so you know." 

Unable to resist, he winked at her and in a normal tone replied "That's never what you said." 

She flashed him a loaded, bright smile, sliding off the counter and blowing him a kiss as she sashayed triumphantly out of the room. 

"I am starved," Bruce said announced loudly, reaching up and stretching with a yawn. 

"Why, snuglybooboomccutiekins, why didn't you just say so?" Tony said with a fake smile, getting up and opening the fridge. 

"Uh," he replied, fixing his glasses absentmindedly. "I did? Hence, why we came upstairs?" 

Natasha let out a pent up giggle/snort, setting off Clint, who then made Rodgers start obnoxiously laughing, and then the whole kitchen was filled with the sound of ridiculously loud laughter from all of them. "It was totally voluntary," Tony wheezed slightly, tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. "I swear, there wasn't even any cuddling-" 

"Look at him, Stark," Clint commanded, gesturing toward Bruce. "He saw you wheezing. Now he's giving you the "ohmygod Tony's arc reactor is giving him asthma again, better go upgrade it so the love of my life doesn't die" look. See?" 

Banner was staring intently at the ceiling, focusing on anything but the snarky superheroes he dared called friends-more likely, family. 

"Just make me the god damn eggs so we can go cuddle some more, Tony," he said, that shy little smile matching up so well with the boyish curls that always fell in his eyes. 

With a wink at the Captain, Tony fake saluted all of them, got out the carton of eggs, and said "Aye aye, captain." 

_~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking of creating a little innocent Avengers Family universe and having little drabbles in a series. Would you read that?
> 
> Go ahead and request some topics if you would, pretty pretty please! :)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm considering writing another chapter about the morning after. What do you all think?


End file.
